Eating Constantly

nsieloff

I am new here, DH has alzheimers for 8 plus years, and is now eating all the time, He just finishes dinner and 10 min. later he says he is hungry. also he gets up in middle of night and I          

found him in kitchen trying to eat a piece of frozen chicken likes its a popsicle. has anyone  had this problem, I really don't know what to do. I think he has forgotten that he is full , so he goes looking for more food.

harshedbuzz

Hi and welcome.

I am sorry for your reason to be here but glad you found this place and reached out.

What you are describing is a fairly common behavior with Alzheimer's. It is also very common in those who have a behavioral variant of FTD. Often PWD don't recall eating and will insist they're hungry. Sometimes this can be a problem if the person gains significant weight and it complicates mobility issues or diabetes but often it's a temporary phase before the characteristic weight loss of the end stage starts.

That said, many people do secure their food supply. One common thing is to set up a garage or basement fridge and freezer and lock them. Another thing to be aware of is that a man who would eat frozen chicken nuggets might also ingest non-food items including brightly colored cleaners, mouthwash, pet food, etc. You''ll need to secure that stuff.

Another strategy is to install a motion detector mat that alerts you so you can supervise his overnight snacking.

HB

nsieloff

Thank you HB for you suggestions they sound really helpful, and will try them.NS

MN Chickadee

The brain going haywire can send all kinds of incorrect messages to the body. Sometimes a PWD always feels hungry, or cold even when they turned the furnace up to 80 degrees  or have phantom pain that doesn't seem to have an origin. For now I would secure the kitchen. We had to put locks on all the cabinets and fridge and freezer. Not only because my mom would eat things she shouldn't but would also just make a mess of all the food and ruin it. There are many options on amazon for locking things up.  As HB said, it's also time to lock anything he could ingest like cleaning supplies and the medicine cabinet. Maybe leave out healthy snacks and low calorie options if it becomes upsetting for him to not have access.  Fruits and veggies, rice cakes, low sugar cereal, etc. Does he forget about it if you distract him?

sophirolr

Wow, I understand you in this situation. I had something similar with my sister. She ate a lot and gained a little weight because of it. I was very worried about her health and found many dietary dishes on https://betterme.world/articles/2500-calorie-diet/ that are tasty and you can eat enough of them. I tried to control her during the night and stop her. Now it seems that this problem does not exist and she is losing weight

Gypsy J

Going through the exact same thing with my DH.

So I'd like to share a few of my coping ideas, hope they are helpful. I'll preface with he now forages in cupboards and places he never bothered with before and can no longer distinguish food/labels. Caught him with a open can of Fancy Feast cat food the other day. Short of padlocking the refrigerator I have cut back on "real" cooking. So less ingredients around, sticking to frozen meals mostly. Also got myself a mini refrigerator off to the side and so new he can't cognitively recognize it exists. That has been a life saver. The foraging cannot be stopped so I came up with a way to cope. I went on Amazon and bought some small clear cups with lids, pudding cup sized. I now prepare these cups with jello, pudding, chips, raisins, fruit etc. I statistically leave a few of these where he can find them. Just before bed I make sure there are 3-4 choices just inside the refrigerator. I hide all the extras in the mini fridge and dole them out as necessary. This has helped tremendously